Abstract:
Back ground: In Ethiopia, anemia is the severe problem, affecting higher proportion of
pregnant women. Despite the severity of the problem; no sufficient research data has been
documented to disclose associated factors of anemia among ANC attendants in the study area.
Objectives: To assess magnitude and associated factors of anemia among pregnant women
attending ANC in Gambella hospital.
Methods and materials: Cross-sectional study was conducted at Gambella hospital from April
2 to May 2, 2014. The required sample size (n) was 374. All women presenting at the hospital
for antenatal care (ANC) independent of their stage of pregnancy and the number of visits were
asked to participate in the study. Data was collected using pretested interviewer administered
questionnaire and laboratory examination was also under taken. Univariate and bi-variate
analysis was carried out and finally model was fit using multi-variate logistic regression.
RESULT: Three hundred and forty six pregnant women were surveyed in the study making a
response rate of 93.5%. Mean HBC values of the pregnant women was 12.11 g/dl + 1.36.
Majority of the participants 272(78.6%) found to be normal where as 67(19.4%) were having
mild anemia and the rest 7(2%) had moderate anemia. Among the study participants malaria
and ova parasite was found in 28(8.1%) and 25(7.2%) respectively. Final analysis in the multivariate logistic regression indicated that pregnant women with malaria parasite infection were
15.8 (AOR= 15.7 95%CI: 5.09-48.411) more likely to be anemic than those free of infection.
Pregnant women with helminthes infection were (AOR= 8.124, 95% CI: 2.754-23.96) more
likely to be anemic than their counter parts. This study also indicated dietary habits with less
than once consumption of vegetables per day were (AOR=4, 95%CI: 1.4-11.8) more likely to be
anemic than their counter parts. It was also found that pregnant women who do not receive iron
supplementation during their current pregnancy were (AOR=2.5, 95% CI: 1.195-5.128) more
likely to anemic than their counter parts.
Conclusion: Based on the data presented in this study, parasitic infection such as malaria and
helminthes, daily green leafy vegetable consumption and iron tablet supplementation were
significantly associated with anemia among pregnant women.
Recommendation: we recommend to stakeholders to give emphasis to parasitic infection
control such as malaria and helminthes control mechanisms and strengthen awareness creation
activities to improve dietary habit of pregnant women on consumption of iron rich foods.
